The first in-person summit for the Group of Seven nations (G7 Summit) since the COVID-19 pandemic concluded on Sunday. The main discussed topics included COVID-19, China, and Russia.
They ended the summit by releasing a joint statement on what they agree and disagree with regarding the issues throughout the world.
What Was Decided?
The group, including the United States, did not find solidarity for a timeline to eliminate coal for electric power generation. This announcement disappointed climate activists. The smart political move from Biden was to not agree to a timeline, and he did this at the summit.
Countless jobs in the United States are still based around coal. Biden’s approval rating has been dropping because of issues at the border and gas prices in the country. This would have derailed the president and his party with the midterm elections approaching in 2022.
The group did agree to a global tax minimum for large corporations that operate throughout the world. This would help ensure fairness and prevent corporations from departing one nation for another because of enhanced tax rates.
The agreement was a “historic endorsement to end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation with a global minimum tax that will help fund domestic renewal and grow the middle class,” according to a G7 spokesperson.
Biden spoke to reporters following the summit. He said,
“Everyone at the table understood and understands both the seriousness and the challenges that we are up against and the responsibility of our proud democracies to step up and deliver to the rest of the world.”
Criticism from the G7 Summit
The main criticism of the summit was that the G7 nations did not reach an agreement on the climate crisis throughout the world. United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the summit, stated that there was still a lot of good that came from the event.
He boasted about how productive the leaders were over the past few days.
One area where the countries did come together involved China’s unfair economic practices. The Group of Seven is coming together to limit China’s economic dominance throughout the world.
A Biden Administration spokesperson discussed what was accomplished at the conference concerning China.
“Three years ago, China wasn’t even mentioned in the G7 communiqué. This year, there is a section on China that speaks to the importance of coordinating on and responding to China’s nonmarket economic practices and the need to speak out against human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.”
China has responded to the news from the summit stating that a small group of nations cannot dictate diplomacy throughout the world. The country has grown to such strength that there is likely some validity to this statement.
However, the G7 nations do have substantial clout, especially when they unite. The main issue is that the G7 nations need China’s support for future plans. For example, if the Group of Seven wants to switch to alternative energy sources, they need China’s production to follow the same trajectory.
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